New York (Top40 Charts/
Elvis Presley Enterprises) - Graceland and
Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) announced today that tickets are now on sale for Elvis Week events August 8-16 in Memphis. The nine-day celebration includes a wide variety of festivities that will unite fans from all across the world at Graceland and around Memphis, showcasing the impact Elvis Presley's life and career continues to have on music enthusiasts and popular culture.
Elvis 1969 - A Celebration Concert will mark the 40th Anniversary of Elvis' triumphant return to the stage with live performances at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. During this unique concert event at The Cannon Center in Memphis on August 14th, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. will reunite many of the original cast from that summer of shows for an Elvis Week 2009 concert celebration. Live musical performances along with video and audio will create a magical music experience that will be almost as exciting as being there in the summer of 1969. Performers currently scheduled to participate include Terry Mike Jeffery and Andy Childs with lead vocals; Joe Guercio, Elvis' orchestra conductor for many of his Vegas performances; The TCB Band members James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Ronnie Tutt and Glen D Hardin; Elvis' backup singers The Imperials, including Joe Moscheo, Terry Blackwood, Sherman Andrus and Gus Gaches; The Sweet Inspirations, including Myrna Smith, Estelle Brown, and Portia Griffin; and Millie Kirkham who also sang backup for Elvis.
Also scheduled during the nine days of events is the 2009 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest, where 20 Elvis tribute artists from qualifying contests from around the world will gather in Memphis to compete for the title of 2009 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist. The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest Semifinal Round will take place on August 12th at 7 p.m. in the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Attendees will see the best Elvis tribute artists from around the world performing and competing on stage for their chance to move onto the final round on August 13. The top 10 Elvis Tribute Artists will receive their chance to showcase their talents as they compete for the title of Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist of 2009. Both two-day and single day tickets are be available.
Also scheduled for Elvis Week, 2007 Ultimate Tribute Artist winner Shawn Klush will perform in concert featuring The Sweet Inspirations on August 11th at The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Also making an appearance will be the semifinalists for the 2009 Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest.
Two sessions of 'Conversations on Elvis' will be held in the morning and afternoon of August 15th. Attendees will hear from Elvis' friends and associates as they share their stories and memories of Elvis. Special host will be Tom Brown of Turner Classic Movies. Session one will feature The Memphis Boys, who will be on stage to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of their historic American Studio session with Elvis that resulted in "Suspicious Minds," "In the Ghetto" and "Kentucky Rain" among many others. To commemorate the anniversary of these recordings, Sony Music will release a deluxe version of From Elvis In Memphis, including all the 32 masters recorded at these sessions. These recordings have been remastered from the original album masters for optimum sound quality. Session two will feature guests who were at the opening engagement in Las Vegas: Joe Moscheo of The Imperials, James Burton of the TCB Band, singer Millie Kirkham and journalist Gloria Greer. Joining these original cast members will be author Ken Sharp, who will be sharing details of his new book, Elvis: Vegas '69.
Additional events are also scheduled for Elvis Week 2009 in Memphis and special ticket packages as well as tickets for individual events are now available. Visit www.ElvisWeek.com for detailed ticket and event information as some events might change.
